


Home Again

by ProstheticLoVe



Series: Of These Changing Times [3]
Category: Veep (TV)
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal, Seasons 1-6, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 04:51:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15678381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProstheticLoVe/pseuds/ProstheticLoVe
Summary: Four times Dan tries to propose and the one time he actually asks Amy to be his wife.





	Home Again

**Author's Note:**

> The last installment in this series! I'm so thrilled for how it came out, I hope you guys liked it just as much. I’m also working on a pre-series story too, so stay tuned for more Dan/Amy!

“…It’s fucking bullshit. No. No. No! What do you guess my next answer is going to be? That’s right, it’s fucking _no_! Are you fucking listening to the shit coming out of your mouth?” Amy Brookheimer was yelling into her phone angrily as she paced up and down the length of the hallway right outside the elevators.

Why she was pacing over there was anyone’s guess, but Dan wasn’t going to tell her to move. She had little to no room in any other area near Selina’s office.

 _He_ barely had any room to work in this office. Everywhere seemed to be taken up by interns, staffers, and the occasional pose member to the Meyer Administration. While the BKD office was based in D.C., when they were in New York City visiting Selina, it created even more cramped quarters and Dan was seriously considering broaching the topic of renting a space elsewhere for them.

Hence why Amy was pacing near the elevators and Dan had taken up residence on the desk she had claimed as her own. He figured they were currently sharing enough things, why not add one more? 

Although, _sharing_ might be the wrong word in this situation since they weren’t actually sharing the pregnancy. She was dealing with first trimester bullshit while he watched from afar and wondered if he should try to help. He listened with a smirk playing on his lips as she yelled into the phone.

He was supposed to be working on a press release for Selina, but he was having trouble concentrating. Amy always got so fired up when the other party wasn’t doing what she wanted and he had always loved listening in.

He eavesdropped as she verbally massacred whomever she was talking to on the other end and he couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread in his chest as her volume rose and her swearing increased.

His favorite was when she pulled out some analogy that was heavy on the swearing and light on the caring. His heart beat quickened, much like it did every time he listened to her do that.

And there had been many occasions.

He just hadn’t heard it first hand recently.

And he found that he kind of missed it.

More than kind of.

Really missed it.

He always enjoyed listening to her give a verbal lashing and he’d craved to hear that within the last year while she was away from him. He may even have missed it more than making her laugh or seeing her get excited about something that was beneficial to them.

Like if they actually won, something that happened so seldom after Selina had lost the last election.

Or his personal favorite, seeing her do something particularly malicious and Machiavellian.

That look of pure manipulation and glee on that sweet, innocent face…

He had always enjoyed watching the emotions play across her face. It had been a favorite pastime to try and get those big emotions to come out.

Specifically anger, but sometimes when a smile spread across her lips…well he’d never admit it, but he enjoyed it just as much.

She became so much softer when she smiled or laughed.

Although in the last year or so, he’d seldom seen any emotion, even anger. If he was being honest though, it was more than a year. Probably since before the Sophie incident.

Something that was still pretty touchy with them.

Even when he was trying to get her riled up during that Buddy interview, he couldn’t seem to get her to burst with energy.

Like she did so often.

But now…with something to do or maybe having finally told him the truth, she seemed ready to go, ready to take life by the balls.

And once again, he was going to have a front row seat.

She was like a fireball speeding to destroy everything in its waking path.

And he really lo—enjoyed that about her.

It didn’t help matters now that he knew about the pregnancy. If anything, watching her work with those form fitting dresses that showed off her larger-than-they-were-a-few-months-ago breasts made him much more…aroused by her.

Which was saying something since Amy being Amy was generally enough for him.

Even when he pretended that it wasn’t, Amy was it.

He’d come to realize that the hard way.

But even watching her get all riled up wasn’t enough to distract him from the very real shitstorm that was brewing. After all, they still had shit to deal with. And while they’d discussed it a week earlier, Dan was still having trouble wrapping his head around it. 

Truthfully, the talk wasn’t very much of a talk.

Before they’d gotten a chance to discuss anything, she had gotten sick.

He had listened to her throw up.

And then cry all over him.

Which was all very unsettling to him.

They had talked, but it didn’t go the way he’d wanted it to or what he had expected.

The talk kinda sucked if he was being honest.

It basically went vomit, vomit, vomit, verbal insults, The Notebook, insert tears.

It was all very…confusing and unsettling because Amy didn’t cry and he wasn’t sure how to deal with a pregnant woman, even one who may be carrying his child.

And they hadn’t even covered all the bases that he really wanted to.

But after two failed conversations, he decided that he’d just feel out what she was thinking. After all, she was Amy and Amy wore her emotions all over her face. And he liked it because he knew what she was thinking. But also he just knew her that fucking well to know what was going on with her.

He knew how he made her feel.

He knew when she was angry, sad, or was ready to rip his face off—which he considered an actual emotion that she had.

“Dan!”

Dan looked up to see Ben approaching him with his coffee mug in one of his hands.

“Amy still on the phone?” Ben asked taking a sip from the mug.

Dan nodded vigorously and looked over at Amy who was running a hand through her hair.

“Is something wrong?” Dan asked tapping his foot nervously on the tiles of the floors.

“No, let’s go to lunch.”

“What?”

“You heard me, let’s go.”

Dan stared at Ben and then back at Amy who was finally looking a little bit relieved. “I just—“

“Get you balls from Amy’s purse and let’s go.” Ben said again more firmly.

Dan sighed, grabbed his stuff and then walked toward Amy who was now quietly talking into the phone. She glanced at them as they came to stand beside her and then slightly waved as they got onto the elevator to go to lunch in the Bronx. Which was not something Dan was looking forward to doing.

He fucking hated the Bronx for obvious reasons.

He was all about Manhattan or Greenwich Village. Now if they could find an office there—

“I wanted to talk to you about this Amy situation.” Ben said.

“What Amy situation? There’s no situation with Amy.” Dan denied vehemently.

They had agreed to wait a little while longer before telling everyone. Mostly because the two of them were afraid. But neither of them would admit to that fear.

Instead, they just blamed it all on timing. Basically, Dan wasn’t looking forward to telling her parents and Amy wasn’t looking forward to telling Selina so…there was that.

And it was just easier when you could pretend it wasn’t happening.

After all, Amy wasn’t even showing, so really the seriousness of the situation wasn’t all that dire.

Ben gave him an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look.

“What situation with Amy would you be referring to?” Dan rephrased quietly trying to get a sense for what Ben knew. Which was probably everything since neither of them were really that stealthy and Ben just happened to know all.

“She’s pregnant. I can tell because I have fucking kids. Also, you’re hovering over her so much you’re like her own personal goddamn Redwood tree and Amy looks like she’s ready to punch a hole in the wall at any minute. Now tell me, what are you going to do about it?” Ben asked as they came to a halt in front of a hot dog cart.

Dan groaned inwardly because he fucking hated hot dog carts, but also this conversation wasn’t doing it for him either. While everyone knew that Amy was near and dear to Ben, Dan didn’t think they should be having this conversation because frankly, it wasn’t Ben’s business. This was between him and Amy.

Also, he didn’t understand why you should buy a hot dog and walk around eating it when you could enjoy a sit down meal at a nice restaurant—for twice as much, but still.

“What do you mean?” Dan asked because while on one hand he didn’t think Ben should be asking him; on the other, he really had no idea what Ben was referring to. What did he mean do about it? Like were they keeping it? Did he mean for them to move in together? Was this Ben’s way of threatening him for impregnating Amy?

“Amy is going to get bigger, you understand that, right? She’s going to look pregnant very soon. Selina—who the fuck knows how she’s going to react—and the rest of the world is going to be very closely watching us. So tell me _Danny-boy_ , are you going to ask her to marry you or are you going to be on the campaign trail with an illegitimate baby and what the young folks are calling a _baby mama_?”

If Dan wasn’t so surprised at the word marriage, then he might have laughed at the term baby mama coming out of Ben’s mouth.

“What?” Dan asked because he was kinda shell-shocked. So much so that he didn’t even pay attention when Ben ordered him a hot dog with everything he disliked on it.

“Are you telling me to propose to Amy because she’s pregnant?” Dan asked when his brain finally caught up with him.

“Now he gets it! It doesn’t look good to have two unmarried parents on a campaign, especially when they are so close to the possible president. And it will look even worse if you’re not presenting a united front.” Ben muttered as he took the hot dogs from the vendor and pushed one toward Dan.

Dan took it hesitantly as they went to sit on a bench.

“Amy would never agree to marry me.” Dan mused looking at the hot dog with disdain.

“Amy might not have a choice.”

There was silence for a few minutes as they both ate their lunches with differing looks of satisfaction on their faces.

Dan’s less of satisfaction and more disgust.

“I’m not asking Amy to marry me. She’d never agree to it and I’m not into humiliation. Anyway, I figured I wouldn’t have to get married until I was like Clooney’s age or older…you know until you actually have to or people start spreading rumors. You know probably to a younger woman, too.” Dan said quietly.

Ben chortled, “Amy is the best thing that could happen to you. I’ve watched you two for years and if you can’t find happiness with each other, you’re never fucking going to find it. You two… _think about marriage_. Maybe mention it to Amy. Don’t mention it to Amy, but there’s going to come a time when you realize that marriage might be the best option. And maybe you might just pull your brain out of your asshole to realize the only person that’s worth marrying is Amy.”

Dan nodded, but didn’t really let that sink in because his mind was still stuck on Amy and marriage in the same sentence. It’s not that he wouldn’t consider it, if he was being honestly, he already had. But…marriage just sounded like something that should happen years from now. Not something that was in his immediate future. And not when he and the wife-to-be were in such murky waters.

He knew Amy had feelings for him; he wasn’t blind.

But…well they had never really been confirmed and he was doubtful, especially given how she’d iced him out for an entire year while off with Buddy-fucking-dickface-Calhoun. The thought made a spark of annoyance flair up, but he squashed it back down because he was the Iceman.

“Sure, Ben.” Dan said finally looking down at his half-eaten hot dog and letting the gears in his brain begin to shift.

While he knew that Amy had feels for him, how did he feel toward her? He’d missed her…a lot. It was this deep aching sensation in the pit of his stomach. It never seemed to go away or diminish. It just sat there, not getting better, but occasionally worsening. And the worst part was that nothing seemed to fill it.

For awhile he wasn’t hungry.

He didn’t enjoy things the way he used to like plotting and scheming or figuring out his next career move by using another willing woman who could advance his career.

He felt like he’d been going through the motion.

Less joy than usual flowing through his veins.

Even with the CBS job and snatch at his fingertips all of the time.

Everything should’ve been ideal, but…It was dark and when Amy came back again…It was like a light had turned on. He felt…he started to feel like himself again.

It was nice.

But also...that didn’t mean anything.

It wasn’t like he’d stop sleeping with other women. If Amy and him got married…he’d—Dan decided to stop his train of thought there because a marriage between him and Amy would never happen.

So why keep thinking about it?

She’d never agree to it.

But the question he wouldn’t allow himself to dig into was: Would _he_ agree to it?

They got back to the office about 20 minutes later to find it pretty empty since most people had gone to lunch. Amy was sitting at her desk typing away with one ear on the phone and another phone in her hands. He wondered vaguely if she had gotten off the phone since he went to lunch, had a bizarre conversation with Ben, and then come back.

And then he wondered if she’d eaten lunch.

He came to a halt beside her desk and waited for her to get off the phone she was texting on. When she put it down for a second on the desk, he grabbed it and typed out lunch? And she responded with a head shake and gesturing to the computer.

He sighed loudly, made a big show of gathering his stuff again, and headed toward a restaurant that served sandwiches that he knew Amy liked. When he got back to the office, she was finally hanging up the phone.

“Some morning.” He said throwing the sandwich on the desk.

She nodded stiffly, “you know—“

And then she stopped talking.

She closed her eyes for a second and he watched her place a hand on her stomach. His heart rate picked up and he felt his stomach drop. He was about to ask what was wrong when she clamped a hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom. He followed after her because he knew where she was headed, but he was still nervous anyway. When he heard the familiar sounds of her getting sick, he sighed and stood outside of the restroom for a few minutes until the sounds stopped. Then he went inside and found her in a now familiar position.

“Your demon spawn hates when I take lunch too late.” She muttered wiping her mouth.

He smirked, “here.”

He offered her a hand to help her get up. Together they walked toward the mirror and Amy began to brush her teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste she had in her purse. When she had managed to grab her purse was beyond him. He watched her for a few minutes in the mirror and let what Ben had said come back to him.

“Do you think we should get married?” he asked without thinking.

“What the fuck, Dan? No! Of course not!”

“What about the campaign?”

“I’m not marrying you because of a campaign!”

“That’s not what I—“

“Just drop it.” She snipped rinsing her mouth and straightening her clothing.

She refused to meet his eyes in the mirror as she prepared herself to leave the restroom. He thought it was weird that she was so unwilling to discuss even the likelihood of them getting married. They weren’t even talking about anything that bad. It was just a simple conversation on the likelihood of whether or not they should get married. She wasn’t even willing to talk about that. All he wanted was know whether it was a possibility that they’d be spending the rest of their lives together.

Was that such a difficult question/conversation to have?

Everything to do with marriage seemed to be off the table and that annoyed him.

“And you shouldn’t come into the ladies’ restroom.” She added as she redid her lipstick.

He rolled his eyes behind her, “hasn’t stopped me before.”

Now, it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“Thanks for the sandwich.” She said suddenly.

“Don’t mention it.”

And then he left and headed back toward the desk they were sharing because he wanted to claim a seat and do some of his own work as she ate. It also made it a nice opportunity to ensure she stopped working long enough to give herself some nourishment. After all, they were going to have a baby, even if the idea of marriage to Amy wasn’t thrilling, she was still having his child and that wasn’t changing anytime soon.

* * *

 

They had been at the hospital because Amy had fucking collapsed at work.

His strong, cunning, hard headed, and diligent Amy had fucking passed out at work. And he’d had to go to the hospital. Which he already hated, but knowing Amy was there…possibly in danger…well it made him hate hospitals more.

Dan was scared.

It was plain and simple.

He wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen with her and the baby. While he knew they were fine – for now – after he talked to the doctor, the seriousness of the situation seemed to weigh in on him. A heaviness seemed to settle in his chest and it made it difficult to breathe. It was similar to London, but it was also different because it seemed to be constantly there.

It was bidding its time.

Waiting for his heart to tighten in the death grip that would clench around it at the most inopportune times.

And he couldn’t tell Amy about it because he didn’t want to freak her out. It didn’t help that he couldn’t seem to do anything about it. About any of it. He was a fucking wreck of nerve-twitches.

Amy had preeclampsia.

And he wasn’t really sure what that meant besides she needed to be put on bed rest. The doctor had explained it to him, but he hadn’t really been paying attention since all he could focus on was the fact that if anything happened to Amy…well…he’d be fucked. Like seriously fucked. Obviously, he’d be sad too.

But the thought of doing any of this without Amy…well it scared him.

So he was choosing to go with fucked because any other description just…he was the Iceman, he wasn’t going to get overly emotional. For that reason, it was kinda disconcerting to know that if Amy didn’t slow down well…something bad could happen.

She had to take a few days off from the office and then work intermittently from home as best as she could to handle the preeclampsia and then she’d probably have to be induced early.

She was on bed rest, which was basically her worst nightmare.

Which made it his worst nightmare.

It was a near impossible situation because it was Amy and she never rested.

And knowing that was stressing him out.

Also, the baby could be arriving earlier than they’d anticipated, which would alleviate some of their stress.

But it would also cause a lot more.

Ultimately, they just weren’t ready yet.

The second bedroom was only halfway set up, they hadn’t gotten a car seat, and right now it was so crazy at work…they weren’t fucking ready. They were supposed to have nine fucking months. Almost ten and well it was barely even into the eighth month.

Dan needed the last month.

He knew Amy needed the last month.

But…that wasn’t how this worked.

Just like Amy’s high blood pressure problems or the fact they were still on the uneven instability of a fucking non-relationship, he couldn’t call all of the shots. What seemed to really be grating on his nerves was the fact that he had no way to control the situation. He could tell Amy to sit and relax and he’d do everything, but really, he knew her well enough to know that, that would never fucking happen. In fact, he could get her a bell to ring if she needed anything and also to tease him with, but knew that he’d still come in and find her working on some hidden phone or iPad or computer she’d stashed away so he couldn’t take it away.

He knew her too well.

He vaguely remembered Mike and Wendy’s wedding where Amy white knuckled her cell phone and refused to put it in the bowl until it was forced from her hands. Except this was worse cause it was a few days not just hours.

Besides all of the hospital shit, what was also really bugging Dan was how out of control he still felt like everything was between them. It wasn’t really that stable and he wasn’t sure about bringing a baby into that.

While they had moved in together and work was going well, that didn’t mean everything between them was what he wanted. He wanted more than just cohabitating together. He wanted—and he couldn’t believe he was even thinking about it—he wanted them to be _committed_. More committed than boyfriend and girlfriend, which was a total mislabel for what they were.

He wanted them to be more than lovers or co-parents or whatever new term was out there to describe situations that were similar to theirs. They hadn’t even really talked about them, especially since Dan had finally gotten her to agree to move in with him. He counted that enough of a win to know when not to push.

But with the hospital visit and the diagnosis…well it put things into perspective.

And he wanted to change some things.

It had been on his mind for awhile now, even before getting that phone call from Richard.

He just wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic when he had been shot down so vigorously last time.

Ever since the hospital, Dan wasn’t sure how to fix the situation and he seriously hated feeling like that. He knew that taking the next step for them wouldn’t cure his fear, but it would make him feel a lot more…stable in their current situation. He’d feel more like he had a handle on what was going on. He couldn’t make the situation less dangerous, but he could be there for her. He couldn’t predict the future, but he could make sure that he did everything in his power to make sure that Amy and the baby were okay.

Amy could have an episode tomorrow and then…and then he didn’t even want to think about that. So he’d like to at least make sure she knew exactly how he felt in case…in case anything happened.

But nothing would happen, he quickly reminded himself.

Nothing was allowed to happen.

Seeing her in the hospital was scary enough even as she yelled into her cell phone and seemed to be okay, he didn’t need to see her practically a vegetable in the bed. He didn’t want to think about being left alone by her. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if the next time they were in the hospital it could be more serious.

He didn’t want to focus on the what ifs or the almosts or the maybes. He just needed to figure out a way to make sure that Amy was okay and that their baby was…would be okay once she finally announced her presence to the world.

They hadn’t even thought of a name yet.

Demon spawn seemed to have become their preferred pet name.

But other parents and institutions may frown upon that.

“Dan! Where is my cell phone?” Amy yelled from the back bedroom.

He looked down at the little device in his hand and then pocketed it. He reached forward and took the cup from the Keurig and set it down to cool for few minutes while he grabbed some items from the fridge to doctor it the way Amy currently liked. While he knew she hated the decaf she had to drink during the pregnancy, they had found a happy medium with two creamers she enjoyed, so he put them in there while she continued to yell out for him.

“Dan! I’m going to get out of the bed if you don’t tell me what the fuck you did with my cell phone.” He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes as he took his now cold coffee and her warm one to the back bedroom.

The apartment they were renting in D.C. was bigger than each of their previously owned ones.

Since neither of them really spent a lot of time in their apartments because they were always on the move, Dan wanted to make sure that their home together was actually a home.

He didn’t want Amy to form some nonsensical reason to leave because the apartment they were renting wasn’t homey enough for her. He had suggested getting a Brownstone in the Georgetown area, but she had rejected the idea because she wanted to save money while they were on the campaign trail. She had argued that they’d be gone most of the time anyway, so it was better to just get a small two bedroom apartment until things had settled down a little more and they could look for something a bit more permanent and—stealing Dan’s word during the discussion—homey.

However, Dan thought that there was a deeper issue at hand such as the one where Amy still thought he would leave her once the baby was born and she didn’t want to make some big commitment to him.

Especially with a house.

For whatever reason, Amy still didn’t trust him enough even when it came to him swearing his word that he wasn’t going anywhere. It was fucked up that she still thought that and he figured it had something to do with her lack of wanting to discuss their situation and make any real plans.

Coming to a halt in front of the door of the master bedroom, Dan popped his head in and grinned to find Amy wearing her pajamas in bed with her arms crossed and a grumpy look on her face.

Her choice of pajamas had been an old shirt of his since most of her clothes didn’t fit and she found it easier to just steal old clothes of his. She said it was the only thing that fit her. He thought it was because she liked how they still made her look tiny, even though her belly was so round.

Also, he figured she liked how they smelled, since they smelled of him.

But he knew she wouldn’t admit that.

The old college shirt of his stretched tightly over her belly, which was peaking out over the duvet.

His eyes lingered before he completed the last few steps to enter the master bedroom. “You need to fucking chill out.” He said setting the coffee carefully on the oak-made bedside table next to her. She rolled her eyes and snatched it up before taking a tentative sip and making a happy sound.

“I know you have my cell.” She responded once she’d taken a few sips.

He set his own coffee down on the bedside table and reached into his suit pocket to pull out her iPhone.

“You mean this little device?” he asked smirking at her.

She moved to make a grab for it, but he put it back in his pocket.

“Amy, I will give you this cell phone, but you need to promise that you will not do any work while I am at BKD. And you know that if you break that promise I will find out.” He said seriously.

He needed her to understand that this was imperative. He was not fucking around when it came to her or the baby’s health. He was done letting her slide by with occasional sips of coffee or the Doritos she seemed to be secretly snacking on even though he spent at least an hour a week at Whole Foods buying her favorite healthy snacks.

She needed to take this seriously or he was going to…well he wasn’t sure yet, but it would be stern and meaningful. She frowned at him and then sat back with a huff. He couldn’t help but smirk when he saw the petulant look that settled on her face.

“Dan, I need my phone.” She almost whined reaching a hand out.

His smirk turned in an amused look because he liked when she got like this.

It was simultaneously Amy and Not-Amy.

“And I will give it to you, but I have no desire to find you dead when I come home because you’ve burst from too much stress or whatever.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. If I want to combust from stress or I want to work, then I will.” She said haughtily.

He gritted his teeth and sat beside her on his side of the bed.

“Ames, I’m serious. No work. Watch Downton Abbey or whatever period drama shit is on Netflix. Hell, try out one of the millions of cop shows that are on or even a shitty soap opera. I don’t care. Just know that you need to take it easy for the next few days and when you come back to work—“

“I need to slow down. Yeah, I got it. Jesus fuck Dan, if you’re like this before the baby is even born, what are you going to be like after? Are you going to flip out every time she goes out on a date?” she asked smirking because her favorite thing to tease him about recently was their daughter dating.

He scowled and reached out to take a sip of his coffee. “Our kid is not dating until I’m dead.”

“That’s so patriarchal of you, Dan.” She said rolling her eyes, “She should date whenever she wants to. Whether that means 12 or 32.”

Dan shook his head, “no fucking way. Our daughter—“

“Will do what she wants. She’s her own woman. I mean, my dad dislikes you, but he’s not complaining about it.”

Dan gapped at her, “are you fucking kidding me? He complains about me all the time! What about what happened the last time we went over there for dinner? Which by the way was the worst fucking idea.”

Amy smirked and took a sip of her coffee, “You can be so overdramatic. I’d hate to know what you’d be like if we were actually married. We’re barely even dating and you’re acting like you own me.” She said snippily.

He stared at her for a moment and then without another word he tossed her phone on the bed. He’d usually lean forward to kiss her and say goodbye properly, but today she was pissing him off and he wasn’t going to put up with that shit. He was tired of how little she seemed to care for hers or the baby’s wellbeing.

“Call me if you need anything.” He called out.

“I won’t.” she yelled back just as the door closed.

He took several steps forward out toward the elevator. Then he stopped and turned around to make his way back into the apartment because he was sick of her shit and he wanted to…to make her understand that he wasn’t going to do this alone if she offed herself due to too much stress and high blood pressure.

He scowled already imagining the argument they were going to have if he turned and went back into the apartment.

She’d call him some names, he’d yell back.

It would be over quickly and he doubted that it would even phase her. He turned back around and headed toward the elevator. He got as far as pushing the button when he decided — probably against his judgment — to go back and confront her.

It would be easier to do it now instead of come home after a long day to lay into each other. Especially since Amy wouldn’t have enough time to get distracted and he’d be off his A-game because today was already promising to be a long one. Mainly because Amy wasn’t going to be in the office to keep him sane.

He reached the front door and took out his keys to open the apartment again. Once the key had turned in the lock, he made his way through their home and back into the bedroom. He was already prepared with a verbal lashing when he burst through the master bedroom door and stopped dead in his tracks.

Amy lay curled on her side with her back to the door, so he couldn’t see her face. However, he could hear her whispering something and he noticed her shoulders shaking.

“Amy?” he asked.

For a horrifying moment, he worried that something was wrong with the baby, but when he moved around the bed to her side and saw her face, he noticed that she had tear stains on her cheeks and she was hugging her arms around her middle in a protective manner.

He knelt down to look her in the eye and she stared over his shoulder to avoid meeting his brown orbs. He stared at her for a long moment and watched with subtle awe as she wiped her eyes and tried to pretend she hadn’t been crying.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” she snapped.

He smirked slightly and reached a hand forward to caress her cheek.

“I think we should get married.” He said suddenly because he always had the worst timing and whenever Amy cried—which had been a lot more than he’d thought during the pregnancy—he wasn’t sure what to do and that was pretty much all that had been on his mind lately.

And well, he finally wanted to talk about it.

She blinked and then let out a bark of laughter, “Fuck off, Dan. Tell the team ‘hi’ for me.”

“Ames—“

“No. I’m not talking about marriage with you. No matter how much your overprotective father hormones seem to have driven you batshit crazy. Like I said, we’re barely together. We’re in no shape to get married. We can barely stand each other.” She protested.

He watched as she turned over onto her back and pulled herself up to a seated position. In response, he stood up from his uncomfortable position beside the bed to tower over her.

“Ames, I told you I love you just a few days ago.”

“So? It was just some weird reaction to the fact I was in the hospital.”

She took a deep breath and picked up the remote that was beside the bed. He watched as she played with it for a few seconds before making the decision to turn it on.

“You admitted you loved me too.” He said loudly and wishing she hadn’t turned on the television.

He was tempted to grab the remote from her and turn it off. She was always fucking doing this whenever they needed to talk to each other about something serious. Instead of having an adult conversation, she distracted herself with the TV or her phone or a computer.

It was fucking annoying.

And she called him the childish one.

“How did we go from arguing about me working one minute to getting married and our non-existent relationship in another?”

“Our relationship is very existent! We live together.”

“Because we have to!”

“You’re having my baby!”

“It was a drunken mistake.”

“I don’t want to sleep with anyone else.”

Amy shrugged and he watched her grip on the remote tighten, just like it did with her cell phone when she was getting stressed, “I’m glad you finally grew out of the man-whore phase. I wouldn’t want to have to explain to our daughter that her dad died of syphilis or anything.” She paused for a second and he watched her avoid his eyes while she continued on, “that doesn’t mean anything, though.”

Silence filled the bedroom as the words hung heavily around them.

Like it or not, they both knew all of those things meant they were in a serious relationship. Amy just didn’t want to admit it and Dan supposed he got it. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

She was hesitant to trust him because why shouldn’t she? She was right to be gun-shy around him, but he was trying and he needed her to see that.

“I’ll see you when I come home.” He said finally and without waiting for a response, he leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head.

“Bye!” she called after him as he reached the threshold of the bedroom door.

He glanced over at her and smiled slightly as she settled into the bed, the duvet wrapped around her large belly. He hesitated, wanting to move forward and press a kiss to her belly, but he resisted because as gun-shy as Amy was about Dan committing…Dan was just as gun-shy about all of this intimacy bullshit. 

For all of his experience with women, genuine intimacy and sincere emotions were two things he severely lacked and knew nothing about.

And while he’d kissed her belly before and talked to the little being growing inside of her, it was all while Amy was sleeping, so the intimacy felt a lot less in your face as opposed to doing it early on a work day morning before he was headed to the office.

“You know we’re going to have to talk about us eventually.”

“I’m okay if we avoid that conversation.” She responded.

He smirked, “I never promised to make this easy.”

“You make nothing easy. Why should this be any different?” She muttered as he finally began to make his way toward the front of the apartment and start his way to work.

He made sure to close the front door extra loud because he knew it would annoy her.

* * *

 

Lilly Margo Brookheimer-Egan was born at seven pounds and seven ounces.

The labor was a nice long 20 hours and by the end, Amy had repeatedly sworn she’d never have sex with him again and he had to have his hand looked out because she’d held on to it so tightly that there was bruising and definite sounds of crunching. His hand hurt so badly from her grabbing it that he almost felt bad for her cell phone when she death gripped it.

But both baby and mom were healthy and Dan had never experienced such a gross and bizarre situation before. From all the shit he’d read and the classes Amy’s sister had suggested they go to, Dan didn’t really understand what he’d just gone through.

He wasn’t sure how he’d felt during the labor. He wasn’t sure what he’d witnessed. He wasn’t sure how any of it could be considered beautiful, especially with that much screaming and blood.

And yet…

He knew that it was supposed to be beautiful and natural and all of that, but really the whole thing was just…weird. The very idea of being present for his child’s birth was just…so very Anti-Dan it was ridiculous.

Amy screaming obscenities as she squeezed his hand until it was reduced to jelly was very Amy, but watching her hold their daughter to her chest and start to cry in the first few minutes of her life was very Anti-Amy.

He figured that Amy probably felt the same way when he cut the umbilical cord.

But in the end, well he was oddly…happy? Satisfied? Glad that shit didn’t hit the fan in their life?

All of the above for sure.

Most importantly though, he was just as happy that Amy seemed as overwhelmed and disturbed as he was. If he wasn’t 110 percent sure that they were on the same wave length, he was now after the last 24 hours together.

During the labor, the nurses and doctors kept asking her if she wanted to watch and she kept screaming at them that ‘no she didn’t fucking want to watch her vagina being stretched out by a human fucking head.’

Dan hadn’t understood why they kept asking, so because he was curious, he looked.

And fucking regretted it. Holy shit. He was now replacing his trying-not-to-cum image of those fucking hideous nightgowns Amy wore—which secretly kinda turned him on but he’d never tell Amy that—with the image of his child’s head protruding from Amy’s vag.

And he was 100 percent sure that would never turn him on.

And if it did, he’d be the first one in line at the psychiatrist’s because he could finally admit there was something mentally unhinged about him.

But again, Amy didn’t need to know all that. While he’ll never forget Amy’s ruby red and rage-filled face as she pushed their child from her body, he couldn’t get over how fucking emotional the whole situation ended up being.

For someone who claimed that he wasn’t emotional and didn’t have emotions…well he may or may not have let a few tears loose during the labor process.

And while he could claim it was from Amy tearing the muscles and breaking the bones in his hand, he knew that she also knew that wasn’t the case.

Being present for the birth of your child was fucking…intense.

He couldn’t describe it.

Even though he was the Iceman, he could acknowledge that watching his daughter be born was fucking intense. From the moment that Amy went into labor, the whole experience ramped up to 100 on the intense scale.

She was screaming and yelling.

She cried a bunch.

Her face got so red he was worried she was having a stroke or something.

He had to remember all of her personal information for the paperwork and he realized how fucking well he knew her that he could do all of that.

Getting into the argument with the nurse as Amy was doubled over in pain in a wheel chair was his worst nightmare.

Then there was actually waiting around for hours on end for their stubborn little girl to finally arrive.

Of course, the screams for the epidural would always be imprinted into his mind. And let’s not even get him started on when he got to cut the umbilical cord.

Or when Amy made fun of him for how he held their child for the first time.

Or how Lilly’s tiny body was placed against him and he saw Amy smiling sleepily at them once her laughter had edged away. While he didn’t have emotions and he was proud of this, he could admit that it was all intense and weird and he wouldn’t be completely against having another kid and doing it all over again. 

But this time, he’d skip the preeclampsia bullshit or how he’d had to listen to Amy throw up more than he’d ever want to.

Or how skittish she’d been about them. His favorite part—and Amy would make fun of him forever if she knew—was sitting beside her in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs as she laid in the hospital bed and held their daughter; together they counted her toes, her fingers, the little freckles dotting her face, her two little ears that stuck out and reminded him so much of Amy, and they stared at her big blue eyes as well as her little button nose.

He liked that Amy claimed right off the bat how alike he and Lilly already looked and when she began to scream/cry, he responded by claiming that she already sounded like Amy.

It was a perfect moment.

Just the three of them.

Their little family.

Until fucking Sophie and Amy’s parents came in.

Followed by his own parents and brother.

With the team, plus Mike and Sue, bringing up the rear.

It was a lot of people, especially for being up all night. So when they all left and it was just him and Amy again…well he wanted to ask her something because it just seemed like the right time. Since the last time he’d asked her, he’d taken some time to better prepare. Instead of just springing it on her, well he had a plan this time.

And while it may not have included both of them going on almost 48 hours without sleep and a sleeping new born baby against Amy’s chest, he really wanted to ask the question he’d been thinking about for awhile.

The moment seemed too perfect to pass up.

This time he had a ring too.

He wasn’t just going to blurt it out.

He was going to—

“Dan?” Amy whispered.

“Hm.” He said back just as quietly. His eyes had been watching Amy’s chest move up and down as the baby rested against it. They had finally gotten her to eat her first meal—Amy was breastfeeding—and she had fallen asleep quickly once she was full.

The whole breastfeeding thing would take a lot more than either of them thought, especially when the nurse had walked them through the whole process shortly after the baby had been cleaned and handed back to them screaming with hunger.

Another Amy trait.

Nipple latching was something that would be ingrained in his brain forever.

“Do you think we’re going to be any good at this? I mean, I know we’re good as a team, but parenting…what the fuck do we know about parenting?” she murmured.

He looked up at her and away from their sleeping daughter. He noticed how afraid and worried she had become in the last few hours since giving birth and everything settling down.

“Ames, you’re going to be a great mother.” He said vehemently leaning in and resting his hand on the one resting on their daughter’s back.

 _Their_.

Jesus fuck that word scared him. “But what if—“ “I’m going to be here. I’m going to help. You’re going to be great. Of course, I’ll be great, but you can chime in with some validation.” He smirked widely, “I think I have something to make you feel better about our arrangement, though.” He reached into his pocket and prepared to take out the ring that had been in his possession for the last month.

As his hand clasped on the box, Amy began to speak.

“Dan Egan if you propose to me right now, I will flip a shit.” She said staring at him intently.

He frowned, “Amy, come on. We’re parents now. We need to be stable.”

“Marriage and stability do not make each other. Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee were married and I wouldn’t consider them stable.” She snipped.

“Amy, I love you. I just had my hand crushed by you for 20 fucking hours. You gave our baby my last name and the middle name is for my mother. We live together. I’m forever going to use the image of our baby crowning as I try not to come before you when we have sex. You’re it for me. Let’s fucking get married and just make it official.”

Amy’s eyes narrowed, “do not use the image of our baby crowning as a way not to come, Dan. That’s fucking disgusting first of all and second of all—“

“Fine, then I’ll go back to using those hideous nightgowns of yours as a way to not embarrass myself because you get me so fucking hot and horny.” He said giving her a lecherous look. She smirked slightly and reached her other hand to rest it on his knee.

“You’re a sick fuck you know that.” She said in tone that was much more reserved to declare someone sweet and nice and perfect—all of which he wasn’t, except perfect of course.

He _was_ Dan Egan.

“Language. Baby.” He said nodding down at the sleeping less-than-a-day-old baby.

Amy smiled slightly and then squeezed his knee gently in an affectionate way that he knew was only reserved for him. Amy liked to put on a tough front—he enjoyed that about her—but she was actually a softy underneath.

A fucking marshmallow.

And he really liked that about her.

She screamed, yelled, and she was manipulative to get her way and reach her goals. She worked her way into the dark corners of D.C. that put his twisted methods to shame, but when she showed her affectionate side, the one he only got to see…well it allowed him a glimpse of how she was when they had dated the first time.

When they were younger and things were simple.

Those small smiles or intimate gestures were as much a part of Amy as the shrill yelling…but the best part was that only he knew about that side of her.

Everyone else assumed that she was just tense and shrill all the time.

But he knew better.

“I love you, Dan. You know that. But I…we can’t get married. Not yet.” She said.

He opened his mouth to respond, but the baby cooed and snuggled closer into Amy’s chest. Instead of trying to make her come around, he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.

It was a chaste kiss; a kiss that exuded a promise of a future together.

And when they pulled away, they rested their foreheads against one another and Dan decided to wait until he could push the idea when they had more time or at least more energy. For now, he’d like to enjoy this moment with his family.

* * *

 

Being on the campaign trail wasn’t as difficult as either of them had anticipated. While Lilly was a handful, they had fallen into a comfortable pattern during the day and at night.

Catherine and Marjorie’s nanny was watching the two babies while the adults were working and at night, they took turns to settle her down when she woke up.

Well, Dan mostly looked after her since Amy slept like the dead and only woke up when Lilly was hungry and he actually was able to get her to open her eyes. The tranquility of their life together had ignited a need that he had long suppressed since Amy had told him they couldn’t get married just yet after their daughter was born.

He found that he actually enjoyed the comfortable pattern they had fallen into.

He enjoyed coming home.

He liked how his day wound down now.

Instead of coming home to an empty apartment…there were Amy and Lilly waiting for him to come home. The best part was that he got to spend time with Amy whenever he wanted to—bugging her, kissing her, bouncing ideas off of her— and then he got the added bonus of their daughter.

While it was shitty to always be on the road and sometimes it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, especially when Amy wouldn’t wake up and he was already tired from their long day or when Lilly wouldn’t stop crying, but he found himself liking it more than he thought he would.

Much more.

It was surprising to say the least that he enjoyed the small domestic moments between him and Amy almost as much as he enjoyed strategizing or bantering back and forth. He might even enjoy it as much as arguing with her and that by far was one of his favorite things to do with her.

As much as he enjoyed the Amy that was whiplash smart and irritated at everyone’s stupidity, he liked sitting and watching television, bathing the baby, or having breakfast in silence together as they read Politico just as much.

So when he decided he actually wanted Amy to be his wife—well he started to do what he did best: scheme.

He knew that she had taken marriage off the table in the past, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to see where her head was at now. He had thought that he’d shown he was a good father a few times over and Amy had to know that he was actually intrigued by the idea that they could be married. Before it was just something he thought he should do.

And now it was something he actually wanted to do.

Maybe he had caught feelings when he became a father or maybe there was no use denying the fact that all he wanted was Amy and a life they built together. Sure, he’d told her he loved her in the past, but those were all endearments that were brought up because he felt…caught in the moment.

Now, it was like he felt something for her all the time. He couldn’t seem to suppress it the way he had previously. It was this warmth that resided in him when he watched her with their baby or when they got into bed after a long day and just laid there in silence or quietly joking around or even rehashing what had gone on that day. He liked the moments before sleep took them the most because she was her most vulnerable then and that was a version of Amy he only got to see.

And he liked that.

A lot.

That constantly tightening in his chest had lessoned the more comfortable he became in their new life together.

When they settled down to go to bed at night, he didn’t feel anything except…happiness, contentment. It was nice. Spending time with her was nice. Being a family was nice. He figured getting married would just solidify all of it. No more instability, no more wondering, no more running away.

They could finally just be Dan and Amy Egan.

Although, he figured that she’d probably hyphenate.

Brookheimer-Egan.

Which is why Dan wanted to start his plan as soon as possible and he decided for The Night to take place in Nevada when they were there for the campaign. He figured it was appropriate, since it could erase all of the bad that it had previously caused their relationship.

Or at least that’s what he was banking on.

While Buddy Fucking Calhoun: The Cowboy Wannabe Pervert was a long-term shitty situation that may or may not still occasionally haunt him, the older, forgettable, and less lovely Brookheimer was the short-term shitstain of a bad decision on his part.

And he could go the rest of his life without thinking about the either of them.

But some things didn’t happen that way.

One Thursday Amy left for work without him.

He claimed to be sick, but he had a feeling that she knew he was lying. After all, why else would she let him be around Lilly while he claimed to not be feeling well. Although, she did still take her to the nanny’s, so who knows.

He had a plan and he had all day to set it up.

He had been scheming for awhile now.

Subtly laying hints during their down time. 

Or commenting on how happy certain people looked.

That one had gotten him a few weird looks though, so mostly he just dropped hints about weddings, dresses, maid of honors/best men, that sort of thing.

She either was choosing to ignore those hints or she didn’t notice.

He did think that he was almost caught when he was measuring her finger while she was sleeping, but when she woke up and found him staring down at her with a piece of paper in his hand, she thought he was trying to wake her up for a feeding and had swiftly wiped her tit out to feed Lilly.

He laughed about that one to himself for awhile. Now that it was their first day in Nevada, he had time to execute his plan and while everyone thought he was acting completely uncharacteristic, they had surprisingly approved of his plan.

Even Selina, although he thought she was only doing it because it would look very romantic, gain a lot of press, and it was good for the campaign.

He spent the day running errands and doing things that were very out of character for him. He bought her flowers—he’d never bought her flowers. He bought candles—he fucking hated candles.

He even did some prying to find out what Amy’s favorite restaurant was in Nevada.

And it took awhile to find out too.

She never talked about her time in Nevada unless she was directly asked and even then she was very tight lipped about it. To the point where he had to fight his way through a fight or two to find out the answer. He got back in the early afternoon with too many bags in his hands and an already annoyed attitude because he kept having to deal with bullshit political fires every 30 minutes and Amy was texting him that she hated him for not coming to work because they had so much bullshit to wade through.

Apparently, someone outside the event that Selina was attending in Carson City had brought up the data breach on a completely whim of a that-was-fucking-years-ago question. Dan wanted to focus on that, but he also wanted to focus on making it to the hotel room and get rid of all of this shit.

Except when he got in there, Amy was sitting on the bed with Lilly in her one arm and the phone pressed against her ear.

He could tell that she was trying not to yell at the person because Lilly was in her arms, but be could also deduce that it was difficult for her not to do that.

Probably because the person she was conversing with sounded like an asshole.

“What the fuck.” She said in such a clipped down he could almost hear the air around her being cut in half.

Then with a few annoyed curses she told the person to call her when they removed their mouth from the urethra it was shoved into. He watched her breath a few times and then turn around to place Lilly in the middle of the bed. He knew without her even moving toward him that she was about to lay into him for something.

Although, he had no idea what she could even blame him for when he wasn’t even there today.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sick?” she asked snidely placing her hands on her hips.

He smirked and set the bags down in front of the bathroom. He wasn’t planning on her being here and it messed the entire night up, but he wasn’t entirely unhappy to see her.

“Would you believe me if I miraculously was cured? All it took was my beautifully shrill girlfriend to let out a few expletives.” He said as she came to stand in front of him.

She glared at him, “I came home early because Selina is on the warpath and I said that you were dying from some illness since you were this morning before I left.”

He shrugged and moved around her to go play with the baby.

“I’m not sick, you caught me.”

“I figured.” She said dryly.

“Where were you?” she added in a would-be casual tone.

He glanced over at her as he sat beside the baby on the bed, careful not to make her move too much.

“Out.”

“Dan I swear—“

“I have a surprise for you and you’re kinda ruining it. Can’t you take the baby and go do something?” he said tickling Lilly to avoid looking at her.

Amy was quiet for a few minutes.

“I ran into Buddy.” She said randomly.

He glanced over at her and stopped making the baby giggle.

“When?”

“About an hour ago, when I was coming back to the hotel. He came to talk to Selina…it was weird.” she trailed off uncomfortably.

He stared at her for a moment. “Well, fuck it, I was going to propose tonight, so I guess that’s ruined.”

“What?” Amy asked.

“I was going to propose.”

“Why aren’t you?”

“Why would I? You just ran into your fucking Cowboy Ken looking ex. When I ask you to marry me, I don’t want you thinking about your ex. I mean was that the first time you saw him since—“

“No.” she said quietly.

He moved to lay back against the headboard and looked down at the baby, who looked up at him. She gave him a sweet smile and he was reminded of when Amy actually looked happy about something.

Which was rare.

“Why don’t you talk about your time in Nevada?”

“Why would you ask me to marry you in Nevada?” she countered going on the defensive.

He groaned and comb a hand through his hair in frustration.

Lilly wiggled beside him.

“Can’t you just answer the question?” he asked after a lengthy pause.

She sighed and moved across the room to sit facing him on the other side of Lilly.

“You first.”

He gave her an incredulous look, “fine…because Nevada has shitty memories. I wanted to…replace them with something better.”

“Bad memories like screwing my sister or like me almost marrying Buddy.” She asked looking at the spot above his shoulder.

He sighed, “I guess both…but mostly your sister since that was a fucking mistake.”

Amy nodded slowly and looked down at her hand that was inches away from the baby’s.

The sat in silence for longer than Dan really wanted it to go on.

It was weird seeing Amy so motionless, she was usually so active.

“Buddy was a mistake too. I don’t talk about Nevada because…well, I had hoped for something that didn’t really exist and I made a mistake thinking I could find it here. And I don’t like making mistakes. Buddy was just a way for me to try to escape…try to escape everything that I didn’t want to deal with anymore. I was…I wanted a chance for myself and I thought Buddy was the answer. He was nice to me…I thought that could be enough.” She said so softly he moved forward to lean in.

“Did you love him?” Dan asked without thinking.

She cleared her throat and stared down at Lilly.

“No.” she paused to tickle the tiny feet that had kicked her socks off during their conversation. “Which is why if you ask me to marry you…I…I need time.”

He sighed with frustration and then got off the bed and grabbed the bags. He put them on the opposite bed and got out the flowers, the rose petals, the candles, and the takeout from her favorite restaurant. Then he dumped out another few items from the last of the bags to reveal champagne, wine, a blind fold, and a box of chocolates.

She smiled softly, “we can still do whatever you had planned, but I’m not getting proposed to tonight.”

“Why not? Amy I’m not going anywhere. We’re happy together, don’t you want to marry me?” he asked with more frustration then he meant to. He just didn’t understand why she was being so jumpy about a proposal. He’d proposed several times, it wasn’t scary.

It was…well he always felt powerful.

And with Amy, he figured because of how he actually cared about her…well he thought that it would be a lot better.

Not powerful, but just kinda…satisfied that he’d finally got her. He finally could breath easy knowing she couldn’t run from him or leave him because they were together.

Officially.

“How many women have you proposed to Dan?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Five.” He said shrugging.

She rolled her eyes and then picked up their daughter off the bed to cuddle her, something he still thought was weird.

Amy never was a huge cuddler. 

Neither was he, which was why he thought it was random that his kid was so into cuddles from the both of them.

“Exactly. I don’t…you’re going to get bored, Dan. I—“

“Why do you think that? Was I bored during the pregnancy or the labor or the last few months as we parented together? I just want you, Amy. That’s it.” He said.

Amy sighed heavily, “And what happens when you don’t?”

“Don’t what?”

“Want me anymore?”

“Why would you think that.”

“Because that’s just what you do. You get bored, you leave, you—“

“You’re the one who leaves. _How was Buddy today_?” Dan asked more viciously than he meant to.

She swallowed thickly, “I didn’t want to leave, but you can’t really understand how I felt during the time.”

“Then tell me.”

“I felt…really fucking miserable.” She paused for a moment, “and I don’t want to feel that miserable again and if you leave…if you decide that you do get bored, then what happens? I feel that miserable and then some, but this time, this time I would have our kid and I just…don’t want to deal with that.”

“And you think the solution, is what? To keep me fucking five miles away from you at all times?”

“We live together, Dan! What else do you fucking want?”

“You know what I want.”

She gave him an elaborate shrug and he knows her hands would be waving in the air if she wasn’t holding Lilly.

“I want you. I want us. Together. I want to…” _Get married_ hung at the edge of his tongue dangling, ready to drop at a moment’s notice, but by the look on Amy’s face, she didn’t look thrilled at the prospect.

She looked fucking terrified.

“Why are you so against this?” he asked after a long silence.

She matched him with her own lengthy silence and then stood up with the baby in her arms.

“I’m going to go down to the hotel bar for about an hour, should that give you enough time to set the room up?”

He stared at her, “Ames—“

“Just don’t propose.”

“Amy—“

“I’ll see you in an hour.”

Dan sighed and watched her leave the hotel room. He stood between the two queen sized beds in the middle of the hotel room and stared at the door wondering why she had to be so fucking stubborn.

* * *

 

Streamers had fallen to the floor and the giant Happy Birthday balloon had deflated. A half eaten chocolate and vanilla cake was sitting on the counter and an empty carton of ice-cream was sitting beside it. Tiny pieces of wrapping paper littered the floor and made a trail to a stack of toys and baby _necessities_ because everything when you have a baby is a necessity Amy and Dan had come to find in the first year of being parents to their daughter.

The two exhausted parents lay on the couch with their feet up on the coffee table – even though Amy hated that – and an alcoholic beverage on the coasters in front of them.

“I can’t remember being so tired from a birthday party in my life and I worked with Selina who made an entire day about her seem fucking endless.” Amy murmured finally moving her legs to curl herself up on the pillow that rested on the arm of the couch.

Dan smirked and watched her for a moment before he made a protesting noise. She let her eyes peak open and a smile slowly spread across her face as he moved forward to grab her and move her to lay on top of him.

She giggled tiredly and Dan loved how tired Amy so easily gave in to him. He just really enjoyed how she seemed to mold to him as she snuggled into his chest. Her arms slid around his waist and he listened as her breathing rapidly grew more shallow. His own arms wrapped around her and pulled her tighter to him.

“Ames, you still up?” he murmured after a few minutes.

“Mhm.” She replied.

He cleared his throat, “you know…this year…it’s been fucking crazy.”

“Yeah.”

He reached with difficulty into his pocket to pull out the ring he’d bought after he’d tried to propose the second time. He gently picked up her finger that was resting on his ribcage and smoothly placed the ring on her finger.

He waited for her reaction with baited breath hoping that this time he’d actually be able to ask her instead of trying to broach a subject she seemed fucking allergic too. But she didn’t even stir. She laid there slowly moving up and down as her breathing shallowed and evened out.

“Ames?” He nudged her.

“Amy.” He said a little louder.

He sighed and rolled his eyes before tighten his hold on her and bucking his hips up to grind into hers.

She turned her head to the other side and snuggled into him, “give me a minute, Dan.”

He laughed loudly, “I love that you want me so badly that, that works every time.”

She let out an annoyed sound and finally opened her eyes to look at him. She rested her chin on her hands that she had moved to his upper chest to help her see him more clearly.

“What do you want?” she asked choosing to ignore the dig about her wanting his body.

Because at this point she couldn’t deny it.

They had sex all the time.

And this last year of parenting with him…well it was surprising.

She knew she had feelings for Dan before, but now it was…well intense to say the least.

Now that Lilly was a year old, well a lot of things seemed to come into focus for her.

“Marry me.” He said glancing to her hand.

She frowned slightly and looked down at where his gaze was.

“What?” she asked staring at the simple and elegant rock that rested on her finger. She wanted to hate it because the welling of emotions inside of her was really unfamiliar and she wasn’t sure what to do. But the idea of hating the ring…well she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Marry me, Ames.” He said again moving his hands to cup her face.

She moved away from him and sat up. He watched with semi-amusement as all of her senses seemed to stand on end. She wasn’t tired anymore; he could tell that she was genuinely wired in her own unique Amy way.

“Why?” she asked moving off the couch.

Her eyes never left his though and he could tell she was freaking out. The set of her shoulders was a clear indicator. He sat up and stood up too, approaching her slowly and steadily like he would a frightened animal.

“Amy.” He said quietly.

“Dan.” She responded.

“Let’s sit and discuss this.”

“Why do you want to marry me? What do you want to gain? You wouldn’t be able to sleep with other women if we were married. Why do you keep asking me this question? Haven’t you grown tired of me by now? Aren’t you bored?” She rambled.

He laughed and moved closer to her, but with disappointment, he watched her take one step back.

“Amy, come on. That’s the point. I haven’t slept with anyone except you in a long time and I…I want to be with you. I love you. You know all of this. You know I’ve wanted to get married for awhile, you just shut me down before I can properly ask or execute a surprise in the right way. You have to know by now that I’m in this for the long-haul.”

Amy was quiet, but she had stopped moving, so he figured that was a good sign.

“Come on, Ames, marry me.” He said again a note that was definitely not pleading entering his tone.

She hesitated and then looked back down at the ring.

“Do you love me?” he asked.

She nodded sharply and her face twisted as she tried to hold in the tears that seemed to be about to burst out.

“Do you want to be with me?”

She gave that same sharp nod.

"We're great together…Ames…You _get_ it...” he said quietly and so meaningfully, he might as well have told her again that he loved her.

“Yeah. Fine. Whatever. I’ll marry you.” She whispered when she seemed to get ahold of her sudden urge to cry.

“Way to sound fucking enthused.”

She gave him a watery smile, “fuck weasel.” And with a sudden intimacy that had only started after the baby was born, she took a step closer to him and said, “you’re it for me too, you know.”

He tried to ignore the warmth that spread through his chest, but it was almost impossible it was so overwhelming. He leaned in to kiss her and she almost melted into him.

“What made you finally say yes?” he asked when they broke apart.

She looked down and then back up at him with unsettled eyes, “Because it’s you, fucker. I always knew I wanted to marry you, but I wasn’t sure…did you actually want to marry me? It’s been almost two years…and you…still.” She cleared her throat and touched her eyes to make sure that no emotion was shown in that little declaration.

He could see a spark of something though and it wasn’t the spark of anger that usually lingered there.

“You’re still a shit.”

He smirked and kissed her hard on the mouth and pulling away before she could respond wanting to get her riled up because she was always so fun to get going.

“I guess that would make you Mrs. Shit then.” He said grinning so wide he wondered if his face was going to split in two.

She rolled her eyes and ducked her head, but because he knew her so well he saw the twinkle in her eyes and the shine that seemed to have taken over her entire face. He liked that she didn’t even have a come back for that and all she could do was kiss him in response and mumble a ‘shut up’ against his mouth.

He responded in kind and briefly wondered if he could say shit on his wedding day during the vows. Because their story was romantic as fuck and he wanted to tell it just right.


End file.
